Happy 2017
by freezypop03
Summary: The train began to pull away just as something sharp stuck Will through his coat and scrubs. "Give me your wallet." This is a super long Solangelo fluff story in an AU where Will is a paramedic in Chicago and Nico is a homeless guy on the street. It's worth reading, I promise. Rated T for cussing and implied prostitution (sort of implied, anyway).


**Chapter 1: Bat-Shit Crazy**

Will was undoubtedly tired, but eternally thankful that Dalia had let him off early tonight. He hadn't slept in literally _three days_ and was running solely on caffeine right now.

Of course, as much as he wanted to just go him and collapse into an exhausted heap, he was craving French toast, and he only knew one place that would still be serving breakfast at one in the morning.

The train came to a halt, and the doors slid open to let in a particularly chilly breeze. Will stepped off onto a pretty much deserted platform.

Or at least, that's what Will thought.

The train began to pull away just as something sharp stuck Will through his coat and scrubs.

"Give me your wallet." Now, Will should be terrified, but being a first responder, he had been in situations like this before. It wasn't the safest of jobs, especially when the 911 call can totally be a trap and turn into a hostage situation. Yikes.

Will reaches into his pocket and pulls out the folded rectangle of leather and hands it to his attacker. The knife retracts, and the guy brushes past him like nothing happened.

The guy, he's small, much shorter than Will, and a hell of a lot skinnier. He's got really dark hair that's moderately long, pulled back behind his head. He's pale, covered in scars, and is wearing ratty sneakers, torn jeans, and a faded t-shirt.

"Hey, wait!" The guy turns around, and Will sees that he looks 21 or 22, Will's age, with the deepest, darkest pair of eyes in the entire universe. "If you're gonna go around robbing people all night, at least take my jacket. It's _cold."_ The guy stares at Will as he sheds his jacket (a basic sweatshirt Will got for like, ten bucks) and holds it out towards him.

"What?"

"Take my jacket," Will waves it at him, and when he doesn't take it, the blonde sighs, "Okay, fine. Don't. I was just headed to a diner a few blocks from here. You wanna grab something to eat." More staring.

"...Why are you being so nice?"

Will shrugs, "Simple human decency. Come on." The guy follows Will down the platform and then down the block, into the comforting warmth of Maggie's Diner, where they seat themselves. The guy, he looks uncomfortable, and Will can see the hunger on him.

It doesn't take long for a server to come to their table, Alex, who's particularly sarcastic and snippy, but in a good way.

"What can I get for ya?"

The guy… he's staring at her. Almost in awe. Maybe it's the fact that she's an obvious natural born-male wearing a skirt, or maybe it's the green hair, but either way, she doesn't comment on it. She's used to staring.

"Um, I'll get French toast, Alex. And a burger and fries for…"

"Nico," the guy says, quickly looking away from Alex. Will gives a slight nod of the head, accepting that, and Alex leaves to fulfill their order.

"Is he-"

"She," Will corrects, "She is transgender, yes, but only some days. Other days she's very masculine. It depends." Nico doesn't say anything, obviously just processing.

Alex comes back with their food really quickly, and Nico stares at his a minute before eating, very slow and very quiet for someone who looks like they've never eaten anything in their life.

"So, how old are you?" Will asks. It didn't take him long to finish his French toast. Thankfully, his weird craving is gone.

"Eighteen," the guy says, surprising Will. He looks older, but that may be the bags under his eyes and the broken look.

"So…. did you finish school?" Will asks, as Alex drops off the check.

Nico nods, "Yeah, I was supposed to go to college at the start of this year, but…." tears well up in the teen's eyes, and Will stops pushing.

"Anyway, you have the money," Will says as Nico blinks away his tears, "You'll have to pay." Nico takes the wallet out of his pocket, looks long and hard at it, and then reluctantly hands it over. He stands up.

"Thank you," he says quietly, and starts to walk out, when Will catches him by the sleeve of the jacket.

"Now hold on," Will says, "I'm not done with you yet."

Nico's face contorts into something terrified, and Will is confused until he realizes how he sounds. _Shit._

"No, not like that!" Will exclaims, letting go of Nico's sleeve, "I promise, _not like that._ What I meant was, I have an extra bedroom in my apartment, and I was thinking I could let you stay until you get back on your feet. Get a job here maybe. You'd probably have to quit threatening people with knives-" Nico smiles, and Will decides he really likes that smile, "-but I'm sure you'd do okay! Whaddaya say?" Nico wipes some hair out of his face.

"You don't even know me," he says, "I could kill you in your sleep." Will pales.

"I think maybe you should leave your knife with me….." Nico smiles again, takes the knife out of his back pocket and hands it to Will. The blonde smiles. That counts as a yes.

They pay for the meal (Alex gives Will a look as they leave, and writes _He's totally gonna murder you_ on the receipt) and Will leads Nico down the street towards his apartment. They get out of the cold, and climb up three flights of stairs (damn the broken elevator) until they reach 320B, at which point Will has to awkwardly dig the keys out of the pocket of his jacket (which Nico is still wearing) and unlocks the door.

Will's apartment is small, but homey, opening up to a small kitchen with an open bar, a cozy living room, a door to the right leading to the bathroom, and two separate doors on the left wall leading to each bedroom.

"That'll be your room," Will says, pointing at the farther of the two doors, but first you can use the bathroom and shower, if you like. I'll try to find some clothes that you can wear until we get you new ones, but I'm like three heads taller than you so like-"

"Anything, is fine," Nico says, sounding more confident than he has the whole night, "You offered me a room in your apartment, bought me dinner, and I fucking… I had a _knife_ to your back." Will smiles softly.

"I'm crazy, aren't I?" Nico nods pretty enthusiastically.

"Bat-shit!" Will laughs.

"Take a shower. I'll find some clothes." Nico's grin fades and he nods, stepping into the bathroom and locking the door behind him.

"Bat-shit….." Will repeats.

 **Chapter 2: He's** _ **Totally**_ **a Stray Puppy**

"You did _what?!"_ Jason exclaims, so loudly Will has to physically pull the phone away from his ear like they do in the movies.

"Calm down!" Will hisses, "He's eighteen and he was on the street in a t-shirt and torn jeans. It's almost December, Jason. What the fuck do you _expect me to do?!"_

"Let him take your wallet!" Jason yells, "He's not a stray dog, Will. He could kill you in your sleep or some shit! It's _Chicago._ You're right in the middle of an all-out _gang war._ It could be a trap!"

"Sure," Will agrees sarcastically, "And when an eighteen year old white homeless boy slits my throat, an equally white, young paramedic, on the orders of a gang, I will bow down to you, Grace."

"Don't you hang up you son of a-" Will hangs up. He's currently sitting in his living room, waiting for Nico to wake up. They've gotta get clothes today, but Will doesn't want to wake the teen up any sooner than he has to.

Suddenly, the guest bedroom door swings open, and Will sits up a little straighter, only to see that Nico looks _completely_ disoriented.

"Where am-"

"Will," Will says, "Fed you, brought you home, am getting you clothes soon."

"I'm not a dog." " _He's not a stray dog, Will!"_

Will shakes Jason's annoying voice out of his head, and runs his fingers through his hair. Nico's got on boxers and a t-shirt _much_ too large for him, which is actually kinda cute… ah, shut the fuck up, gay thoughts.

"I don't have any pants for you, but you can borrow one of my shirts if you pull on your old jeans. I can't really afford name brand, I'd like, target and shit is okay." Will moves into his room and grabs the nearest clean t-shirt, and finds Nico hiking up his jeans.

"I shouldn't be letting you do this," Nico says, tugging off the over-sized shirt (pale chest, some abs, scars) and pulling on the new shirt, "I shouldn't be here. This is really freaking bizarre."

"It's not bizarre," Will says, even though it's really bizarre, "It's almost December, you were alone and looking like shit-"

"Wow, thanks."

"-and I'm a huge softie when it comes to situations like that. C'mon, let's go."

They take the train to the nearest strip mall and comb through target. Will doesn't want to offer anything Nico won't like, and Nico doesn't want to offer something too expensive. It's a slow going process.

"Maybe we should just forget the clothes and get like, eighty-five packages of M&Ms," Nico says, exasperated.

"As much as I love M&Ms," Will says, "You need some decent clothes, and that's final. After this, we're going down to Maggie's and getting you a job."

"So then I can pay half the rent?"

"Let's start with half the grocery bill."

Eventually, they ended up with a significant amount of clothes that Will could afford. When the cashier said the price ($246, even) Nico's jaw dropped so low Will tapped his chin in order to get him to close it again.

"I'm so sorry," Nico says as they walk out, "I shouldn't- you shouldn't- Will, stop walking." Will stops walking, "I can't let you be so nice to me. I just… it's not right. I can't do anything for you in return… well, I could, but nevermind that. What I mean is…. I can't.. I don't have.. Nobody…."

"Are you done?" Will asks, "Cause you're gonna let me be nice to you whether you like it or not, Nico whatever-your-last-name-is. Now, we're getting you a job." Will turns and continues walking.

After a few moments silence, Nico says, "Di Angelo." Will grins.

"Solace."

They take the train back to Will's neighborhood, and walk into Maggie's, arms full of various target bags. Will can't believe his luck when he sees the owner himself standing right there.

"Magnus!" The man, blond like Will, glances over, and grins.

"Hey Will."

"Hi! This is Nico," Nico waves, "And he's been having a rough time, so I'm helping him get back on his feet."

"Oh, is he a friend?"

"No, he tried to stab me. But he's past that, I promise. I was wondering if he could take a job here? I know you're short a few people." Magnus shrugs.

"As long as he doesn't try to stab anybody else."

"This is the weirdest job interview I've ever witnessed," Alex says from behind the counter, "And quite possibly the shortest."

"We were once in the same boat," Magnus says, gesturing between him and Alex, "Completely lost and homeless. But, fortunately, we made it, and now we're just fine. You can start tomorrow, noon sharp, okay?"

"That would be great," Nico says quietly, obviously shy. Magnus smiles, and hops over the counter.

"I feel like my whole life has flipped upside down," Nico mutters as Will steers him out of the diner and down the street to the apartment.

"I sincerely hope that's a good thing."

When they get into the apartment, Will practically demands a fashion show, and since he bought the clothes, Nico does what he's told.

"This is stupid!" Nico calls from his bedroom, "These are cheap target clothes!"

"They're better than what you had before!" There's some scuffling, and the door opens. Will's sitting on the couch, watching, amused, as the boy shuffles out. He's wearing a black long-sleeved v-neck, jeans that are actually able to cling to his legs (they aren't as skinny as his torso, almost muscular), and black knock-off converse. He looks vaguely decent, but his hair is still a mess.

Will watches as the teen changes through various articles of clothing, obviously tired of doing it after three outfits, but he kept on going.

"This is the _last one,"_ Nico sighs, stepping out. He's got on a large black sweater, baggy enough to give him sweater paws and drop over his ass, which is a good thing since he's wearing leggings, actual women's leggings. On his feet are socks that are gray, brighter in nature than the rest of his clothes, but still gray.

Will feels his cheeks tint. All he can do is stare. This kid is fucking _adorable._ A stray puppy if Will ever saw one.

"Come here," Will says, "Your hair still looks like shit." Nico rolls his eyes and pads over, sitting down on the couch next to Will. "Back to me." Nico bites his lip, looking a little confused and slightly scared, but turns around anyway.

Will runs his fingers through Nico's hair, and the younger boy makes a small noise at the touch. Will does it again, and then again until the hair is out of Nico's face. Then he starts to braid.

"So, what's with the black?" Will asks as he works his way through Nico's dark locks.

"It's a habit," Nico says, sounding more relaxed than Will has ever heard him sound, "When my mom died, we wore black to her funeral and I guess I decided I would never stop mourning. I adopted the black, took shit for being goth or emo or whatever. And when my sister died… well, the black will remain black." Will feels his heart drop out of his chest.

"You didn't have to tell me that," Will says, "If it's hard." Nico sighs. Will finishes up the first braid and moves on to the last.

"It's hard," Nico admits, a slight shake to his voice, "But you're letting me live in your house, spending money on me, and _braiding my hair_ when you've known me for _literally_ two days. You are probably the nicest human being outside my mom and sister that I've ever met." Will smiles.

"Don't worry about it," Will says, "You got a job now. You're like… a stray puppy I picked up that can now help me pay my bills."

Nico laughs.

 **Chapter 3: A Choreographed Routine**

Will walks into Maggie's around noon the next day, on his lunch break. Of course, it's barely a lunch break since he's on call every second, but he doesn't mind.

He's greeted with the smell of coffee and food and something that smells a bit like apple pie. Are Wednesday's pie days? He can't remember. He walks up to Alex, who's busy wiping down counters.

"Is he doing okay?" Will asks, gesturing to Nico who's down at the far end of the diner, waiting a table.

"He's a natural," Alex says, "As evil and foreboding as he looks, he's actually pretty good at faking it for the customers. Even the ones whose necks I wanna ring."

"Like Mr. D?"

"Exactly." Will watches as the family of six laughs at Nico, presumably because he said something funny, and then he himself laughs when Nico turns around, brandishing the hatred of Satan in his eyes.

"How the fuck do you do this everyday?" Nico hisses at Alex, "These people are fucking ridiculous." Will and Alex both laugh.

"Get used to it, my young Shinigami. It's your job now." Nico groans, and runs to go get the family drinks.

Weeks past. December makes it's way into the world, bringing cold days and harsh snow. Will and Nico fall into a choreographed routine. Wake up, Will showers, Nico showers, Will does Nico's hair and then leaves for work, Nico leaves for work. Will comes down at noon for lunch, Nico takes a break and they talk a while until Will has to go back to the hospital. Nico goes home around six and makes/brings home supper. Will comes back around eight and eats his share. Sleep and repeat.

By the time the week of Christmas rolls around, Nico's helping pay for groceries, is slowly accumulating clothes and is redecorating his room. He looks much better than he did when Will first found him, with a little more meat on his bones, and color returning to his skin. You can barely tell a few weeks ago he'd been running, starving, homeless on the streets.

Will's at work when he gets the call.

"Hello?"

"Hey Will, it's Annabeth! Jason and I wondered if we could come down for Christmas? It's been awhile since we saw you, brother." Will laughs.

"I don't have any room in my apartment for you two and your SOs. You'd have to book a motel room or something."

"That's fine, as long as we can come down!"  
"Yep, no problem!"

"Love you brotha."

"Love you too, sista."

She hangs up, and Will sets down his phone. He stares at it for a few seconds.

"SHIT."

Nico's sitting on the couch with a piece of pizza when Will gets home, carrying a multitude of boxes. The teen jumps up off the couch to help him, taking some of the boxes and setting them down on the floor while Will shrugs off his jacket and goes to change out of his scrubs.

"Are these… Christmas decorations?" Nico calls to the blond, and Will calls back his response.

"Yep!"

"What are they for?"

"We have to put them up," Will says, coming out into the living room in a pair of gray sweats, and nothing else. Nico's cheeks flush slightly.

"Why?"

"Because my brother and sister are coming down for Christmas last minute." Nico pulls out some christmas lights and starts unwrapping them.

"We don't even have a tree."

"Those go on the walls. There's little nails close to the ceiling they hook onto." Will takes the lights from Nico and plug them into the wall. Thankfully, they light up. "We'll do them last. Let's put everything else out first."

Pizza forgotten, they make the apartment look like a department store just threw up all over it. Garland here, a wreathe there. They decorate for awhile before finally getting to the lights, at which point Nico climbs onto Will's shoulders and hooks the lights on the nails.

"You're _super_ light," Will remarks.

"Is that a pun?" Nico asks, hooking another strand on another nail. Will laughs.

"It is now."

Nico had no trouble getting _on_ Will's shoulders. It's the getting _off_ that provides a challenge. Will ends up ducking his head while Nico pushes over top of him, and lands on the couch. Off balance, Will proceeds to teeter and fall on top of him.

"Ouch!" Will scrambles for better purchase while Nico wiggles to get out from under the blond's body. They end up with Will hovering over Nico, in the oddest of positions. A position roommates shouldn't really be in.

And still, Will finds his lips gravitating towards the younger boy's, and Nico leans up, completely and utterly ready to lock lips with a man he just met three weeks ago. Then, Will's pager starts blaring.

Their movements stop in an instant, and Will's climbing off of Nico to grab his coat, and runs out the door, leaving the teenager to splay out on the couch, breathing heavy, and whisper _one word_ into the darkness of the room.

"Fuck."

Nico gets up off the couch and moves to his room, which is actually starting to look like his own, with dark sheets on the bed, dark clothes in the closet, and various other knick-knacks scattered around the room.

As Nico strips and lies down, all he can think is one simple thing.

What's going to happen to their choreographed routine?

 **Chapter 4: You're** _ **Really**_ **Pretty**

"My brotha!" Annabeth exclaims as Will welcomes her with a bear hug. He's got the day off today, but Nico doesn't.

"My sista," he replies, breaking the hug. Percy holds out a hand, and Will shakes it.

"It's really festive in here," Annabeth observes, passing the kitchen and collapsing onto the couch. She's got a four-month baby-bump.

"Yeah, well."

"I hear you've got a new roommate," Percy says, passing Will and moving to sit next to his wife. Will clears his throat, taken aback. Of course Jason talked to Percy about this. The two were practically inseparable.

"Really?" Annabeth asks, also a little surprised, "Why wasn't I told?" Will shuts the door and glares at Percy.

"It wasn't relevant."

"I'd say it's pretty relevant, William." Will wants to barf. Just because Will is 21 and Percy is 26, the older man talks down to Will like he's a small child. Almost like a dad, except the nagging, brutal kind that only loves you if you're the quarterback and kicks your ass to the curb when you tell him you're gay.

At least, Percy is like that _some_ of the time. Most of the time, he gets on Will's nerves because he's a happy, cheerful, frolicking mama's boy that doesn't know red from green or right from left. Seriously, what does his sister _see in this guy?!_

"Do we get to meet him?" Annabeth asks, oblivious to the tension between her husband and her brother. Will shrugs.

"I don't know. He's at _work,"_ he gives Percy a pointed look, "And doesn't get off till seven or eight. What time do pregnant ladies go to bed?" Annabeth scoffs, and Percy cracks a grin, the tension lifting.

Jason and Piper arrive next, and there's a lot of hugging and "Oh you look so good" and other nonsense formalities that Will would rather eat shit than listening to. He decides that now's the time to break out alcohol, and soon everyone has a drink in their hand, excluding Annabeth. They talk for awhile, make jokes and laugh. Soon one drink is gone, can discarded. Then another. And another. And another, and basically, Annabeth is chaperoning a bunch of drunk idiots.

That's when Nico walks in.

Of course, the boy is bombarded by Will, who proceeds to hand him a drink, even though he's not of legal age.

"Will I don't think-"

"Shhh, baby boy," Will says, "Get drunk. It feels great!" And who is Nico to refuse? So everyone get's drunk, really drunk (besides Annabeth who pees herself laughing at everyone). Will stopped drinking once Nico arrived, and his head is starting to clear, but the teen is drunk out of his mind, and is laughing along with Percy as Jason tries (and fails) to balance a lamp on his head.

"Don't break that!" Will slurs, still a little tipsy. Nico looks over at him, and grins the happiest, hugest grin Will's ever seen.

"It's loud," Nico says, and it is, because they've turned on the radio to blare Christmas music, and Jason and Percy are shouting over it. "Let's go outside for a minute."

"Outside" means the hallway, but the sound lessens as they close the door, almost silent. Will's glad for the thick walls and the lack of tenants on his floor, because had it been any other way, there'd be cops knocking down his door.

Will and Nico sit across from each other on the floor of the hallway. They stare at one another.

Nico is completely smashed, and it's obvious. He's giggling, his movements are sluggish. He looks like he's about to pass out.

But none of this stops what comes next.

"You're _really_ pretty," Nico says, and giggles some more, "My dad would beat me if he heard me say that. Once my mom and sister died, he kicked me to the street because I was a useless faggot!" Nico howled with laughter, "Useless faggot."

Will swallows hard. He shouldn't be hearing Nico's back story like this, drunk in the hallway of his apartment building.

"But… I'm not useless!" Nico exclaims, "I can work! I have a job and stuff, and a cute roommate!" Nico's face suddenly turns series. He scrambles to his knees and crawls over until his forehead is pressed against Will's. Will stares at him, eyes wide. No way this is-

And then they're kissing, and Will forgets everything and anything he was thinking before " _He taste so sweet."_ His rejection dies in his throat. They kiss, and they kiss for awhile, until Nico pulls away, laughs maniacally, and proceeds to pass out right in Will's lap.

 **Chapter 5: I'll Remember This One**

Will's stomach feels as though it's in his feet. He knows Nico will get up soon, he knows he'll have to face the harsh truth.

" _About last night, Will…. I really don't feel that way about you."_

And even though it's only been a month, it hurts Will's heart to think that way. In all reality, he really, really likes Nico. This boy that tried to stab him on the street suddenly has become ever so important to him, and he doesn't know what to do.

The bedroom door opens, and Nico comes out, looking sour.

"Remind me to never take a drink from you again."

"About last-"

"I don't remember any of it," Nico scowls, climbing onto one of the barstools, "My head feels like it's about to freaking _blow up_ and my stomach is doing fucking jumping jacks. The last thing I remember is… is the music being way too loud and that other blonde dude trying to balance a lamp on his head."

Will couldn't believe what he was hearing. Nico didn't remember kissing him. In all reality, that should fill Will with a sense of relief, to know he's not going to be rejected any time soon, but it just fills him with a deep, dark sense of dread.

"Did you shower already?"

Days come and go, as do the members of Will's family. Will and Nico's choreographed routine doesn't change.

Will feels like he could scream for every second of it. Does he tell him, does he not? Does he let the whole thing go even though this kid… this kid he picked up off the street has come to mean _so_ much to him?

Damn it. DAMN IT.

Will doesn't tell Nico for those few first days, mostly because he's afraid. Okay, that's not accurate… he's _terrified._ He doesn't want to be rejected. Even worse, he doesn't want Nico to feel like he _has_ to like Will back in order to stay with him. Even if Will's feelings aren't requited, Nico is welcome to stay for the rest of his life if needed.

It's New Years Eve when it happens. Because of Nico's intense hang-over and extreme memory loss from the last time he drank, he refuses to drink any wine, instead deciding on the sparkling grape juice stuff, which isn't exactly delicious, but still better than nothing. He and Will sneakily make their way onto the roof of the apartment, waiting for the fireworks to go off in the good parts of town when the clock strikes midnight. Three minutes to go.

"Nico," Will starts, and the teen looks over at him curiously, "You know how you don't remember that night you got drunk? Like, at all?" Nico nods. Will swallows. How can he go through with this? He hopes to the gods he doesn't start crying, or something, "Well… see… at some point you said that the music was too loud, and I was sobering up, sorta, and I followed you out the door and we sat in the hall…. And you started telling me about your dad and why he kicked you out."

Nico sighs and looks away, "Will, I-"

"I don't care about that," Will says, "Seriously, that would be hypocritical. What I was meaning to tell you, was after you told me… you were really drunk and I was still tipsy and you crawled over and we… made out, I guess." Nico was quiet for a long moment after that, processing the information.

"And… I don't remember?" Nico asks, looking over at Will.

"No, you don't." Nico frowns, and climbs to his feet. _Oh gods,_ Will thinks, _He's_ leaving. But he's not. Instead, Nico offers Will a hand, and the blonde climbs to his feet, confused. They stand chest to chest, on the roof of a run-down apartment building in the bad parts of Chicago, the light of the city in the distance as thousands of people get ready to scream for the New Year.

"I'll remember this one." And to Will's amazement, the teenager, standing on his tip-toes, kisses him. Will's arms wrap around Nico's waist as Nico's hook around Will's neck and they are lost in each other.

It's unbelieveable, completely unbelievable, especially when a huge blast and a bright array of colors light up the sky. Midnight.

They break apart laughing.

"What kind of cheesy romantic movie is this?" Will asks.

"Ours." They kiss again, more fireworks explode, more colors illuminate the silhouette of their embrace. Yelling and screaming for joy is heard all around, in the apartment building, across the south side, they were probably even hearing the cheers from the good parts of town.

Happy 2017.


End file.
